


Hearts of (Fool's) Gold

by RainHarmonia



Category: Warframe
Genre: Artistic Liberties, Gen, Memory Loss, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, we follow canon until we don't, who's ready for some...
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-01
Updated: 2020-12-06
Packaged: 2021-03-10 00:55:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,422
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27815680
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RainHarmonia/pseuds/RainHarmonia
Summary: The Origin System is vastly different than the one that Ivara and her clanmates recall. And yet, it's much the same as well. They fought, they slept, and now they have arisen to fight again. New foes are trying to dig their claws into the system, while old ones are stirring. These poor kids just can't catch a break.
Kudos: 3





	1. Chapter 1

The first thing she became aware of was darkness. Or perhaps it was the feeling of it? Floating, alone, in emptiness, unable to see a thing even when she thought she might have lifted her hand in front of her face. The feeling of floating transitioned, until she was certain that she was laying on her back, on a rather hard surface, too stiff to move. Vision came next, though there was little to see beyond colors and shapes warped by a thick pane of glass. And then sound, a soft hissing as the glass drew away, as her joints unlocked.

“Oh, good, I’m not alone.”

How did she know that voice? It was familiar, for certain. Rough, low, but the familiarity that it brought was accompanied by warm feelings. Not a threat then. She braced her hands against the sides of her cryopod - yes, that was right, she’d been in cryo - and tried to sit up. The attempt went, all in all, rather poorly. Her head fell back with a metallic clang, and it didn’t hurt as much as she would have expected. Curious, she moved her hands to her head, though paused before reaching it. She turned her hands over, staring at them. Something about this didn’t feel...right. Her fingers, her hands, her entire body now that she paused to look at what she could was metal. She flexed her fingers, watching them curl inwards, feeling them. The wrong feeling slowly faded. It responded to her, and she could feel. This was her body.

“Oh for fuck’s sake, Ivara. Come here.” 

Hands reached into her cryopod, grasping hers, helping to pull her up into a sitting position. Ivara grunted, holding tight as she was dragged from the cryopod and set on her feet. She wobbled, tearing her hands away from her helper’s to latch on to their shoulders instead. They stilled, waiting, letting her find her footing. 

They? The body that she could see was definitely feminine. And yet, that voice. She wasn’t sure how she knew but just as it felt familiar, attaching it to ‘she’ felt alien. This must be someone she had known, before sleeping. Ivara lifted her head, studying the other, waiting for the answer to come to her.

“Oh. Hi Ember.” 

“Good, you remember. Took me a couple minutes too.” Ember turned, sweeping a hand towards two more cryopods. “How much do you remember?”

Moving slowly, but steadily, Ivara approached the nearest of the two, peering through the glass top, then went on to the second. She was silent, searching her memory, digging through a fog that slowly thinned. “Names. I remember names. I’m Ivara, you’re Ember, that’s Mag and Zephyr, but…” she trailed off, feeling like she was frowning. A hand lifted to her face, gliding across smooth, featureless metal. Odd. She was certain she was frowning.

“But?” Ember prompted.

“Well, those are our names but they aren’t… I don’t know.” She shook her head. “Nevermind. I thought there was more, but I’m not sure anymore.”

Ember grunted, nodding. “I know the feeling,” they muttered. “Anything else?”

“No. No, just names. And a connection. We’re...friends? We’re very close. More than friends. We’ve…” She huffed, searching her mind again. The answer remained just out of reach. “There was something that we spent a lot of time doing together. Something important.”

“Fighting. We fought something together. I don’t remember much but I’m certain there was fighting, and lots of it. I just don’t know against who, or why.”

Ivara pondered that silently, trying to figure out why it brought on a sinking feeling. She was snapped out of that by the gentle hiss of another cryopod opening. She and Ember hurried over, both extending a hand to the Warframe within to help her sit up. Mag grasped their hands, hauling her torso upright and nodding her thanks. Then she looked past them.

“Is Zephyr not up yet?”

“That was fast.” Ember’s other hand moved to support one of Mag’s arms and Ivara copied them with the other. Between the two of them, they helped Mag from the cryopod. “Took me and Ivara both a couple minutes to remember anything. We still don’t know much.”

Mag shrugged. “How little do you remember?”

“Just who each other is and that we fought something together.”

“We...hmm. I don’t remember fighting.” Mag extricated herself carefully from their holds, already moving towards the final cryopod. “Let’s wait for Zephyr to wake and then we can come together to discuss what we all know.”

They didn’t have to wait for very long. Only a few minutes after Mag spoke, Zephyr’s cryopod opened and the Warframe within practically sprang out. She hung in the air for a moment, then almost seemed to float back to the floor...where she promptly crumpled in a heap. 

“Oof!”

Ivara started, caught off guard by the voice. It was as familiar as Ember’s, and as Mag’s, but unlike the other two it didn’t seem to fit the body well. High and bright, as if belonging to someone much smaller, someone younger.

“That’s what you get for not taking it slow.” Ember crouched, letting Zephyr hang on their shoulder to help her stand up.

“But slow is boring! Look, I’m already getting used to being up again.” Zephyr let go of Ember, took a few very wobbly steps, and would have fallen again if Ivara hadn’t lunged forward to catch her. The flash of mixed affection and exasperation that passed through the huntress was another familiarity that she took note of. Yes, she thought she remembered Zephyr being a rather energetic handful.

Mag chuckled softly, then gestured for the others to follow. “Come on. There are much more comfortable places in the dojo to sit and talk than this little room.”

Ivara hadn’t been inclined to call the room they had awoken in ‘little’ until she stepped outside of it. It had been of a decent size, able to fit all four of them albeit in somewhat close quarters, but the hall that the group emerged into was massive. Pillars supported a vaulted ceiling high above their heads, stairs led up to a catwalk that encircled the room, and she counted five more doors - one of which some instinct had told her was hers.

It was in the center of this area that they had gathered, where four plush chairs were pulled up around a circular table.

“We all remember each other’s names and that we share some sort of friendly bond. Before anything else, we need to make sure that we’re all on the same track. Ember, you first. Is there anything else that you remember?”

Ember nodded, blank face angling towards Zephyr. “I remember you’re a little shit who knows how to have some good fun but doesn’t know when to stop. I know I’ve had to save your ass many times. So please for the sake of my sanity, try to learn your limits this time around.” Zephyr just tilted her head, and even though nothing in Ember’s posture changed, Ivara got the distinct feeling that they were rolling their eyes. “I also remember that before we went to sleep, there was a war. We fought together, as a team, but I don’t remember who our enemies were, what the war was about, or even who the rest of our side was. That’s it.” They went back to picking at the arm of their chair, which showed signs of being used to that sort of treatment.

Mag scratched her cheek, or whatever constituted for one on that swirling mass of her face, then winced as metal fingers scraped unpleasantly against glass. “Ivara?”

Ivara, who had been tugging nervously on part of her veil as she mulled over her pieces of memory, tried not to jump out of her chair as she found the weight of everyone else’s attention on her. “I just remember everyone’s names, and a feeling of wrong! Like these aren’t our names and aren’t our bodies, but that’s silly because, well, it should be pretty obvious these are our bodies and we all remember each other’s names the same,” she answered. “Sorry there’s not anything more useful.”

“Me next!” Zephyr butted in, wiggling in her seat. “We’re a clan! We do everything together, and you’re our leader, Mag. And Ember is your second. I remember this is where we live, and we’ve always had a lot of fun together.”

“If we were fighting in a war before cryosleep, how was that fun?” Ivara asked.

“Perhaps this was before the war, or during downtime between battles,” Mag offered. “I can’t say for certain, because I don’t remember a war. I do remember that we are a clan, and I remember our dojo. ...I suppose a war does explain why I’m fairly certain we have a room where we keep weapons. I remember the name of our clan too. It’s rather odd, the Pyrotic Warriors. Why would we call ourselves after false gold? I know we have some sort of reasoning, but that’s currently eluding- Ember, where are you going?”

“To find the weapons!” Ember called, already out of their chair and halfway towards the nearest door.

“Well they aren’t that way. Come sit back down. We’ll go as a group once we make sure there’s nothing else to discuss.”

“Fine.” With a ‘hmph’, Ember plopped back down in their chair, only to perk up almost instantly as a fifth voice greeted the clan.

“ _I am glad to see that you have all managed to awaken safely._ ”

Ivara was frowning again, turning her head this way and that. No matter how quickly or erratically her head moved, the little image of a woman whose helmet covered half her face remained in the same spot at the edge of her vision. She lifted a hand, but even bringing it flat against her face failed to cover the image. How strange. 

“Lotus,” Ember said, and Ivara watched a faint smile tug at the woman’s mouth.

“ _Very good. You remember._ ”

“We don’t remember a lot,” Ivara grumbled, wishing she had been able to realize who this ‘Lotus’ was. The woman was as familiar as her clanmates, but caused a different surge of feelings. Warm affection and a deep respect. Lotus was someone very important, of that much she was certain.

“ _More of your memory will return in time. You must be patient and let it come as it will. I fear that trying to remind you of everything will be dangerously overwhelming._ ”

Zephyr let out an unhappy sound at the prospect of needing to wait patiently for anything. Mag leaned over to pat her hand in consolation then asked “Would you at least tell us who you are and what’s going on? Your name is Lotus, I presume, but I’m afraid I don’t recall you at all.”

“ _Yes, I am the Lotus. I am the guide to the Tenno. You’ve slept for generations, but now the system is in need of you. The balance has shifted and war brews._ ” A pause. “ _My apologies, but you are not the only Tenno who are waking and some are doing so with memories less intact than yours. I must tend to them. I’m sure you have many questions, and I wish I could answer all of them. Your ships’ Cephalons should be able to help you in my place. Before you leave the safety of your dojo, I urge you all to refamiliarize yourself with your Warframes and your weapons._ ”

It was only after the transmission ended that Ivara was struck by a memory. She bolted upright. “Mom!” The outburst received a nod from Ember, and curious head tilts from Mag and Zephyr. “The Lotus. I remember, sort of. She was with us, before we slept. She looked after us and took care of us, like a mother. Some of us looked at her like she was. I wonder if it’s because we didn’t have moms.”

“I remember that too. She’s good. I know we can trust her.” Ember stood again, stretching. “So let’s do what she recommended and go find those weapons.”

Ivara was pretty sure that Mag’s brief silence wasn’t because she was sorting through her memories. For some reason, she got the feeling that Mag didn’t like the Lotus as much as she and Ember did. Curious, she glanced towards Zephyr, who turned out to be harder to read. She didn’t seem particularly displeased though.

“Well, I wish we knew more about what’s going on,” Mag sighed, also getting to her feet. Ivara and Zephyr followed suit. “We’ll have to find and ask these ships’ Cephalons about that. But I suppose it can’t hurt to make sure we still remember how to survive first.”

“Especially cause I think Ember might burn up in excitement if we don’t go check for our weapons right now,” Zephyr teased. 

Ivara giggled while Ember huffed. Mag just nodded, leading the way towards a door opposite the one they had emerged from earlier. “We can’t lose Ember just yet. I have a sneaking suspicion that we’re going to be kept quite busy once we prove capable.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So it turns out that not really having many people to talk to Warframe about, or much of anywhere to shove my characters for some interactions, leads to several nights of staying up until 5 am compiling and organizing ideas to put to use for fanfics. Or, more specifically, a singular but- *nervously checks notes* -quite large fanfic. My doc with this fic's notes and outline is 14 pages and counting, and it's pretty barebones still. I'll likely end up making a bunch of side oneshots to go with this so I don't get overwhelmed with getting everything in the fic.
> 
> Welcome to the beginning of my madness. We'll be generally following along the canon storyline here until we get to the New War, at which point it's time to get original. Enjoy the ride, and I'm going to apologize in advance for what will likely be erratic upload times and chapter lengths.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I did say erratic chapter lengths, right? Though most should end up roughly this size. In all honestly, I perhaps could and should have combined these first two chapters into one but I thought it would be better to offer a small character introduction bit before really getting into anything.
> 
> Just a note here, all Warframes and Tenno-owned weapons mentioned are their Primed versions. The 'Prime' label just hasn't been added yet because without the presence of non-Prime counterparts, there isn't a need.

Traversing the dojo was a strange experience. Ivara would enter a new room, take a moment to stare, and suddenly something slotted into place in her memory and she _knew_ the room, what it functioned as - this one was a meditation garden, that one a library - and yet she wouldn’t know what lay behind any of the doors until she passed through them. As she walked, a map flickered in and out of her vision. As with the image of the Lotus, this seemed to be visible without actually being present in the environment at all. Her hands slid over her face, finding metal, metal, and more metal, yet she could see her hands covering her face. How was she seeing? 

“Is anyone else seeing things?” she asked as the four entered a hallway and turned a corner, piling into an elevator.

“You’re going to have to be more specific than ‘things’. Seeing what?” Mag asked.

“There’s...a map. Over here.” Ivara waved a hand near the left side of her face, then squinted. Or at least, she felt like she was. Without eyes it was hard to tell. “Something else on the other side- Oh!” As she focused on the hints of blue and red phasing in and out of the right side of her vision, it solidified into a bar. Or...two bars, one of each color, stuck together. “Shield capacity. Warframe structural integrity,” she read. 

The elevator’s descent came to a halt and Mag led the way onward. This time it was Zephyr who answered. “If you focus on them, they get all solid and easy to see! If you focus on something else, you can’t see them at all. Letting your attention go all around makes them flicker. It’s really distracting when they flicker but it’s kinda fun. If I look at you, I can see your shields and integrity bars over your head! Oh woah your shield bar is way bigger.”

Ivara eyed her clanmates, finding that Zephyr was correct on both accounts. She could see their bars floating above their heads, and while the blue and red parts looked equal for Zephyr and pretty close to equal for both Mag and Ember, her own shield capacity bar was double the length of her integrity bar. She poked at her arm, metal finger bouncing off of metal bicep. Seemed sturdy enough to her. “We have a HUD built into our vision,” she realized.

“I don’t think that’s how HUDs work, Ivara.”

“Well then what else would you call this, Ember?”

“Well it’s a- clearly it’s- umm...a visual display of… okay fine I’d call it a HUD. But how can it be part of our vision?”

Mag shrugged. “How do we see without eyes? It’s just part of our situation.”

“If we can see without eyes, how do we know what eyes are or that they’re required for vision?” Ivara pressed.

Nobody had an answer for that, and the group spent several minutes in uncomfortable silence before Mag stopped in front of a door. “Right. Our weapons should be stored in here. That way,” she pointed to the left of the T-shaped intersection, opposite of the way they had come, “is a sparring room. I’m guessing the outside isn’t particularly safe right now, so we’re going to practice before we go anywhere.” Without waiting for a response, she entered the storage room.

Ember was the second in, and Zephyr excitedly pushed past Ivara to follow, which was fine with her. She wasn’t sure why, but the thought of holding a weapon didn’t sit well with her, unlike her clanmates. At least Mag’s readiness seemed more practical than anything else. Ember and Zephyr both appeared to be absolutely thrilled by the idea.

Four corners, four groups of weapons. Oddly, everyone seemed to already know exactly which to grab. Mag had studied the room, then quickly drifted towards a shotgun, a pistol, and a sword, all gleaming gold and white. Names sprang into Ivara’s head, pulling themselves from the ever thinning fog of her memory. Boar, Lex, Dakra. Ember hadn’t even hesitated before heading for their Burston, Sicarus, and Glaive. Zephyr had let out an excited squeal as she picked up her Tiberon and looked over her Bronco and Kronen. And Ivara herself wrapped fingers around the suddenly familiar hilts of her Fang, glancing towards her Baza and her Aksomati.

“I didn’t realize I missed these until I got my hands on them again. I suddenly realized that I felt naked and I don’t anymore,” Ember commented, quite pleased. Ivara got the feeling that they would be smiling if they had a mouth.

“I wouldn’t say that I missed them, but I have to agree with the rest of what you said,” Mag murmured. “I suppose that makes sense if we did fight in a war.”

Zephyr nodded, and Ivara couldn’t deny that while the thought of using these against someone still sickened her, having her weapons with her brought a sense of security that she hadn’t realized she’d been missing before.

“Well, time to see what we can still do!” Sentimental moment over, Ember turned and marched out the door, turning the corner to head into the sparring room. Mag lifted one shoulder in a shrug, then led the others to follow. “I’m up first. Who wants to fight me?”

“I will. But first-” Mag waved Ember back to the door. Or, more specifically, to the small panel beside it. “This is just practice. There’s no reason to be using our real weapons against each other.”

Ember tilted their head, watching her tap away at the screen before perking up suddenly. “I remember now. Right.” They hurried over to join her, taking their own turn at the screen once she had stepped away. They took up positions in circular alcoves at opposite sides of the room, leaving Ivara and Zephyr by the door to watch, and suddenly a holographic copy of either fighter and their weapons appeared in the center of the room.

As Ember and Mag moved in their alcoves, their holograms mimicked the movement, taking weapons in hand. Mag aimed her Boar at Ember, who aimed their Burston at Mag. Both began blasting away at each other...standing entirely still. After a few seconds, they both paused. Mag looked around her alcove, as if realizing it didn’t offer much room for going anywhere. Zephyr called out, “Lean and move your feet, remember?”

“Obviously not,” Ember huffed in reply. “Good thing you did.” They followed the instruction and their hologram darted to the left, then circled around and kicked Mag’s leg out. Or at least, they would have if she hadn’t shifted her hologram forward and spun around, loosing another shot from her Boar that tore into the Ember hologram’s shoulder. Ember’s response was a few point-blank rounds to the face from their Burston before they backed their hologram off and pulled out their Glaive. As their arm went back in preparation to throw it, Mag extended a hand, curled her fingers, and pulled it back. The pulling motion dragged Ember’s hologram off balance and towards Mag’s, who met it with the blade of her Dakra, hitting the same shoulder as before. That arm of the hologram flickered, and in their alcove, Ivara could see Ember wince as the mimicked movement of that holographic arm became sluggish.

“Interesting,” Mag murmured, letting Ember back their hologram off again. She flung out her hand again and something in the air shimmered a moment after the Glaive spun towards her hologram’s head. She rolled to the side, exchanging her Boar for her Lex and firing wildly in Ember’s general direction. Ivara didn’t expect a single shot to hit, but all of the bullets suddenly curved towards Ember’s hologram, just as they pulled the trigger on their Burston again...and all of those shots _also_ suddenly curved back around to pelt Ember’s hologram, which flickered and then faded completely. 

“What the fuck! That’s not how guns work!” Ember fumed, stepping out of their alcove.

Mag followed suit and her hologram also dissipated. “I remember now. Ember, I’ve told you this often but you really must use your abilities more. We have more than just these physical weapons at our disposal.”

“When I meet something that won’t die from having its head blown off, maybe I’ll use more than just my weapons,” Ember grumbled. But they paused a moment, flames licking about their form before vanishing. “There. I remember how to burn whatever I want, if I ever want.”

Mag sighed, gesturing for Ember to follow her to the door. “Zephyr. Ivara. You’re up.”

After taking her turn at the panel to key the room into a user change, Ivara stepped into an alcove, watching her hologram appear. Waiting for Zephyr to finish her own prep, she guided her hologram through some basic movement to get the hang of it. By the time Zephyr’s hologram had appeared, Ivara’s was running across the wall.

“Ready Zephyr?”

“Ready!”

Ivara looked down at her Baza, then dropped it. Calling upon her Artemis Bow was second nature, something she could do as easily as raising her hand and with only a little more focus. As she pulled back on the string, an arrow of energy form. She released it, watching as copies of the arrow appeared on either side to form a small hail of horizontally spread arrows, only for winds to whip around Zephyr’s hologram and scatter them all in different directions. Ivara’s hologram pushed off from the wall as another arrow was drawn back. The moment it left the bow, her form disappeared. Ivara’s focus had shifted to the arrow, a singular one this time, somehow seeing through it and guiding it as if it were her body now. Every time the wind shield knocked the arrow away, she righted its course, attempting to find an opening to make use of. But there was nothing.

She withdrew from the arrow and it was sent careening into the wall. Still invisible, the hologram drew its copies of Fang and pushed through the Turbulence. Comforted by the fact that she wouldn’t actually hurt Zephyr, Ivara swung out. Zephyr yelped, her hologram stumbling this way and that as she tried to dodge what she couldn’t see.

On the sidelines, Mag leaned towards Ember. “See what happens when you pay attention to what your Warframe can do?”

“Shut up. I get it.”

“Ivara this isn’t fair!” Zephyr huffed. She raised her hands and tornadoes formed around her hologram, making their way around the room.

Ivara’s hologram stuck close to Zephyr’s, figuring that she would steer clear of the tornadoes or risk being swept up by her own attack. But now Zephyr’s copy was blasting bursts of air around herself, and the edge of one such blast caught Ivara’s and flung her away. A moment later, one of the wandering tornadoes sucked her in. The invisibility failed, and Zephyr’s hologram swung towards that tornado with a triumphant cry, Tiberon in hand. A few shots later and Ivara’s hologram was no more. The tornadoes and the wind circling Zephyr all dispersed.

“Well,” Mag noted, “that was flashy.”

“So it’s clear that we all remember how to not die.” Ember leaned against the doorframe. “Let’s get out of here and go see what it’s like outside.”

“Yes!” Zephyr bolted for the door. “Yes, let’s go outside!”

Ivara stepped from her alcove, joining her clanmates near the door. “We have personal rooms in the dojo don’t we? I’d like to stop by mine first. I still don’t remember much of who I actually am. Maybe I’ll find something there to jog my memory.”

“I like that idea. I know my name, and I know how to defend myself. But there are still other equally important things that I would like to know about myself,” Mag murmured. “Perhaps our quarters will have something for that, yes.”

“Fine by me. Guess I’d also like to see if I can remember anything else.” Ember shrugged, stepping back into the hallway. Zephyr whined, but didn’t argue with the others, falling into step with them as they all headed back for the elevator.

* * *

Room exploration hadn’t proved much help. Ivara’s room was rather bare of belongings, with the exception of some cape items - syandanas, her memory told her - and two sets of what she recalled to be decorative armor pieces. She ran her hand down the length of one of the syandanas, studying it. 

_“Your loyalty has been proven and you are battle-ready. With this absolution, all past crimes shall be forgiven and you will be welcomed with open arms to fight for your beloved empire.”_

She searched her memory for more of that moment, the only time she had ever worn this syandana, but it had faded. Frustration flashed through her. She had been a criminal? That didn’t sound right. What had she done? Why had she done it? She _needed_ to know herself again. 

Leaving the uru where it hung, her hand closed around the top of the apavada, taking it from the wall and swinging it over one shoulder to figure out how to settle it on her back. With a faint hiss, it simply seemed to click into place, remaining attached even when she took her hand away. She hadn’t had to tie anything. Odd. Her attention turned to the decorative armor pieces. Avia, that was what that set with a missing shoulder piece was called. Where was the missing piece? Try as she might, she couldn’t recall. Maybe it was meant to only have one shoulder piece. The other set, the anasa, looked much nicer with its delicate, moving golden pieces. “How pretty,” she whispered, picking up each piece and letting it attach where it belonged much like the syandana had. 

“I’ve found something!”

Mag’s excited call drew Ivara from her room, where she was greeted with the sight of Mag standing in the open doorway of her own room, holding some sort of stringed instrument. “What is it?” Ivara asked, as Ember and Zephyr poked their heads out of their rooms.

“It’s called a shawzin.” Mag knelt down, fingers plucking clumsily at the shawzin’s strings. “I must have used to play it. I like music!”

Ivara debated sharing her own memory but ultimately decided against it. She didn’t know if her clanmates had any clue about her apparently criminal background before, and if they hadn’t known then sharing now ran the risk of ruining her place among them.

“Well I found _this!_ ” Ember emerged fully from their room, turning around to show off what Ivara thought might be another syandana, except that this one was some curved pieces of metal alit with flame. “Isn’t it awesome? I don’t think it’s real fire though.” They reached back, waving their hand through the flames. With a second look, Ivara could see that they had also found a set of decorative armor to adorn themself with.

She glanced at Zephyr, only to see her duck back into her room. Mag stopped messing with her shawzin and also returned to her room, leaving Ivara with Ember. “Your syandana looks cooler than mine,” Ivara sighed, turning around to show off her apavada.

“Yeah. But I think I like your armor better. The moving parts are neat.”

“Thanks. Do you remember what yours are called? I’m pretty sure this set is anasa and my syandana is apavada.”

“Pyra,” they said, gesturing behind themself, “and edo.”

“My armor’s the riv-elite set because I was the best at Lunaro,” Zephyr crowed, stepping out of her room again. “I remember it! We need to play again sometime you guys. Promise me we’ll play Lunaro again soon?”

“Uhh...sure?” Ember offered, at the same time that Ivara, who had no idea what Lunaro was, said “I promise.”

Zephyr whooped with glee, her broca syandana swirling around her as she whirled. Mag emerged from her room again just in time to catch the tail end of it and chuckled softly. “It seems I’m late to the fashion party.” She hesitated, and then struck a pose to show off her targis armor set and yomo syandana. Ivara clapped.

“Nice look for you,” Ember noted.

“We’re all dressed up so can we go outside now? Which way to get outside?” Zephyr was bouncing in place, getting higher in the air than anyone should and drifting down slowly.

“Yes, that was the deal. Let’s go. The docking station should be on this floor.” Mag waved for the others to follow her.

Ivara wasn’t sure what to expect from the docking station, but it wasn’t a curved room with four humanoid indentations, each with a plaque above it that bore a single letter. _M, I, Z, E_ across the room, from left to right. She walked to the one labeled with an I, then hesitantly turned around and stepped back into the indentation. With a series of low clunks, each of her limbs and her head locked into place and the piece rotated, releasing her into a rather cramped ship interior. She took a few steps, then yelped as her head clanged against the ceiling, realizing it sloped downward just a moment too late.

_“What’s that? Who’s th- Operator! You’ve awakened! How wonderful. Belos has been waiting very patiently and is very glad to see you again. Recalling your Liset to your Orbiter now.”_

“Huh?” Ivara jolted as the little ship hummed to life, falling down to sit against the wall. “Belos… Your name and your voice are familiar. I’m sorry, I still don’t remember much from before I woke up.”

_“Understandable. You are currently in your landing craft, a Liset model and a small ship meant to carry you to the places that your Orbiter cannot reach, such as your dojo’s docking bay or the surface of a planet. While your dojo provides you and your clan with a stationary home, your Orbiter provides a means of travel and a mobile home base to operate out of. I am Belos, the Cephalon assigned to maintain...the majority of your Orbiter’s functions. The infirmary and biological functions fall under separate jurisdiction, not that Belos is pleased about it. You will see what Belos means in just a moment. You have arrived at your Orbiter.”_

“Thank you,” Ivara mumbled, trying to process what she’d just heard as she slotted herself back into the humanoid indentation. So she had a ship, and a Cephalon to run it. Whatever a Cephalon was. And Belos...he registered as a friend, somewhere in the back of her mind. He was a friend from before she went into cryosleep. “Were you asleep while I was or did you have to wait for- how long was I in cryosleep?”

“ _Cephalons are not biological lifeforms, Operator. We do not require sleep. The Void is a timeless place and so it can be difficult to tell exactly how much has passed. Once we have exited the Void, Belos will reconnect to the primary Weave and learn of what has transpired in our absence._ ”

Uncertain of whether or not he could actually see her, Ivara nodded. She would poke around her Orbiter in the meantime, she supposed. She was quick to discover that the decor was as sparse as her room at the dojo. Although one door was surrounded by strange, fleshy growths. They seemed to be coming from the metal of the ship itself. “Belos?”

“ _The infirmary, Operator. Every Tenno’s Orbiter carries a body of the Helminth strain of the Infestation. Unlike the rest of its species, the Helminth does not seem to be malicious, though it is difficult to trust Infestation of any kind. It keeps to itself and seems to prefer to keep the infirmary door shut unless the Operator has need of it. Should your Warframe be damaged in battle, it is the Helminth that will repair you,_ ” the Cephalon explained, disdain clear in his voice.

Ivara inched closer to the door, laying her hand on one of the growths. “Hello Helminth. I’m sorry I don’t remember you. I’m still working on regaining my memories.” She received no answer, but the growth twitched beneath her hand and she was fairly certain she could feel a presence prod at her curiously before withdrawing. “It doesn’t feel right to call Helminth an ‘it’. That’s for things. What should I call you, Helminth?”

The growth twitched again beneath her hand, then pulled away from her touch with a squelch. That presence returned, pressing against her, a whispery voice echoing seemingly directly into her mind. “ _We do not converse with the demon. Unless we are needed to repair our flesh that you wear, leave us be._ ”

There was too much there for Ivara to unpack at the moment. So she muttered an apology for disturbing the being, silently decided that ‘they’ seemed an appropriate pronoun, and continued her exploration of her Orbiter.

The floor sloped upwards in a ramp at that point, before leveling out again. Instead of a door leading to another room, this led to a short hallway with another ramp at the end, a hallway lined with familiar stations. Ivara studied them for a moment. “I do remember these. This one is...storage space, for my Warframe and weapons. No wait. Just my weapons. Why would I need to store my body somewhere? And that one is for building things. What’s the empty spot there?”

“ _That was meant to house the necessities for raising and caring for a Kubrow companion to aid you in battle. As far as Belos is aware, most of the Tenno Orbiters carry a space for an incubator. However, it never ended up installed. The war ended before there became a need for such aid._ ”

“Tell me about the war.”

“ _I must warn the Operator that Belos does not know much. I was created merely as a ship’s Cephalon. The war was already ongoing when I was created and given to serve you. You fought for the mighty Orokin Empire, against a terrible foe that they called the Sentients. This went on for three years, one month, and twenty-two days before the end of the war was announced. The Orokin were said to be victorious and yet, not long after, you returned to Belos with the news that the Empire had collapsed. You would not speak of how it happened._ ”

“Orokin,” Ivara murmured. That word stirred something in the recesses of her mind. If she had fought for them, they must have been the good guys. So why did the word bring up feelings so...negative? She shook her head. This was confusing. Perhaps she should just wait. Her memories would return. Moving up the second ramp, she was met with the sight of the entire wall in front of her being formed from a curved window. Stepping closer, she leaned over the navigation controls at the base of the window to press a hand against the glass, staring at the swirling blue-green beyond. It was beautiful and unsettling all at the same time. “This is the Void. Isn’t it?” Before her Cephalon could reply, she let out an excited noise when a small ship flashed passed. “That was one of my clanmates, right? Is that what my landing craft looks like too? It was so nice!”

“ _Yes, you are looking out at the Void. Yes, that was Ember’s landing craft. No, that is not what yours looks like. Ember’s is a Scimitar model, not a Liset. Would you like a Scimitar model? I could obtain the blueprints from their Cephalon and set the foundry to work._ ”

“No, that’s okay. I’m sure there’s a reason I prefer what I have. Thank you though.”

“ _Ember was the last of your clanmates to reach their Orbiter. Now that they are aboard, would you like to join your clan in leaving the Void? A transmission from Mag’s Cephalon says that she is making it an order._ ”

Ivara nodded. It seemed that Belos somehow was able to see her, because the Orbiter hummed to life around her. Fascinated, she continued to stare out the window as the ship turned itself around. Another Orbiter entered her vision and oh stars, these things were huge! A bright tear entered the view next, growing larger and larger until it seemed to engulf her entire Orbiter. It faded as suddenly as it had appeared, leaving her staring at an endless black speckled with stars. 

“ _Operator, I am currently reconnecting to the primary Weave. Connection complete. To answer your earlier question, you have been in cryosleep for exactly- oh my. Four hundred fifty-three years, eleven months, four days, two hours, and eight minutes. … Incoming call, Operator._ ”

Ivara was too stunned to do much beyond sit on the floor in silence as Mag’s voice filled her ears. “In case anyone hasn’t yet asked their Cephalon, we’ve been in cryo for four and a half centuries everyone.”

“We’ve _what?_ ” Ember’s voice rang loudly, shaking Ivara out of her silence.

“It sounds like you’re all talking right in my ears. Please try to keep it down, Ember. That hurt.”

“Oh come off it, Ivara. Didn’t you hear that! Over four hundred years! What the fuck?”

“Well,” Zephyr chirped, “it’ll be fun to see what the future is like!”

An unfamiliar voice, gentle and female, joined the call in response to Zephyr. “ _Dear Operator, the information that Mila is currently sorting through paints a very bleak picture of the current time period. I do not think this will be fun at all._ ”

“Oh. I’m ready to go back to sleep then.”

“Don’t joke like that, Zephyr,” Mag said sternly. “I’m going to end the call now. You should all set course for Mars, the nearest planet. I know it hasn’t been long since we climbed out of our cryopods, but the Origin System is a mess and it’s time to start cleaning it up. Our first stop is a Grineer outpost that requires culling. I’ll have Zinera send your Cephalons the coordinates. We’re about two hours out. Take the time to learn about the state of things. See you all there.”

The call cut out, and Ivara shook her head, still trying to wrap her mind around the fact that she’d been asleep for so long. “Umm.. Belos, just take us to where Mag says. And I want to know everything that’s happening.”

* * *

It didn’t take long for Ivara to decide that she wasn’t a fan of what cleaning up the Origin System entailed. Oh, on paper it had sounded quite nice. Keep the balance between the warring Grineer and Corpus while working to return things to a time of peace? She’d thought that all had implied a lack of fighting and just a lot of negotiation.

Now, as she pulled one of her bloodied Fangs from the body of a Grineer, watching the corpse crumple with a clang of metal armor and prosthetics on metal flooring, she thought she might be sick.

The feeling hadn’t really hit her until after the deed was already done. Creeping up behind him had been fine, plunging her blade into his neck, simple instinct. It was his dying gurgle that made her freeze up, realizing that life had existed and now it didn’t. He could have had a family - okay, maybe not considering the Grineer were apparently all popped out of cloning tubes, fully formed and ready to fight. But that didn’t mean this simple lancer hadn’t had friends who would miss him or dreams that he would now never be able to fulfill.

Nauseous, she pressed herself back into a corner and fell to her knees. Perhaps it was a good thing she didn’t have a mouth. Otherwise, she was fairly certain she would be retching right now.

She didn’t hear the approaching footsteps or curious murmur in the rough Grineer language as the body was spotted. It was only the startled shout, when the nearby Grineer scorpion realized that she was staring at a corpse, that roused Ivara. She looked up, spotting the scorpion running for an alarm panel. Scrambling to her feet, she propelled herself forward in a bullet jump, reaching out. Her fingers passed just short of being able to curl around the scorpion’s arm. Another second later, alarms were blaring throughout the base.

“Dammit, who got caught?” Ember snapped over the comms channel that linked the four Warframes together.

“Nope,” Zephyr said.

“That doesn’t matter right now. Everyone pair up and get ready. Ivara, I’m coming to your location. Ember, Zephyr, you two together.”

Ivara managed to mumble out confirmation that she’d heard, feeling even worse now. Then something bounced against her shields. A machete, wielded by the scorpion who struck again towards Ivara’s neck, only to once again be repelled by the shields.

Spurred into action, Ivara caught the blade the next time it was swung, yanking it from the clone’s grasp and tossing it away. “Please stop. I don’t want to have to kill you too,” she said, as the scorpion spat out what was probably an insult and tried to land a punch. Ivara caught the scorpion’s arm and sighed. A quick knock to the head later left the Grineer unconscious.

Gunfire and shouts in the Grineer language echoed around her. Ivara glanced around, just in time to spot another three clones round a corner. One of them pointed towards her only for her to activate her Prowl and vanish. The three confused Grineer split up to wander the room. Realizing that she had left both of her blades in the corner, she gripped her Baza tightly. 

And then Mag burst into the room, lifting up a hand to Crush all three Grineer. Two hit the ground again as unrecognizable balls of metal and meat. The third, body heavily distorted and armor cracked, groaned in pain but was swiftly ended with a Lex shot. “Ivara?”

“I’m here,” she said softly, uncloaking. “Sorry… The alarm was my fault.”

Mag just nodded, surveying the room, then went to retrieve Ivara’s Fang blades from the corner. “What happened?” she asked, nodding at the unconscious scorpion. Considering the lack of wounds, it was pretty easy to tell she wasn’t dead.

Ivara shook her head. “I- I can’t do this, Mag. I killed one- I thought I was going to be sick. These are people too.”

“These are enemies, Ivara. Didn’t you research on the way here? They’re taking over peaceful settlements, slaughtering the innocents who lived there. By killing them, we stop that from happening.” She held out the Fang expectantly, face still turned towards the scorpion.

Trying to keep her hands from shaking, Ivara took the blades and walked over to kneel beside the unconscious form. She hesitated, looking back at Mag only to receive an encouraging nod in response. Blood sprayed into her face as she drew one blade across the scorpion’s throat.

“Come on,” Mag said gently. “Let’s finish clearing this base out. Once we’re somewhere safe, you can do whatever you feel you need to in order to atone.” She held Ivara’s elbow, helping her stand, then turned to lead the way out of the room.

Suddenly wishing she’d been able to remain in her cryopod, Ivara followed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *checks story notes* When do I get to deviate from canon? Not yet? Not yet. The first bit of original stuff shouldn't be long in coming though! Just need a few more chapters. We're going to start out minor at first but later on we'll reach the point of completely moving away from DE's storyline to work entirely originally. *squints at Scarlet Spear and the New War* 
> 
> If you ever want to chat, you can find me on Discord as Rain Harmonia#8401 (unless you're reading this during October specifically, in which case it would be The Halloween Dragon#8401) and if you ever wanted to play some Warframe, I'm on Switch as RainHarmonia.


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